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Saturday, February 20, 2010

Sometimes when I deal with the publishing angle of writing I feel a bit like a general on the battlefield. Stay up late planning strategy. Study the opponent until you know them down to how they like their verbs. Watch for the agent on the left flank who hates queries beginning with questions!

Ah well. There IS a reason for this blog's name. :) And as all you long-suffering readers know, every so often I leap off topic and tell you about how I'm faring in the fray. Here are 2010's first “notes from the front.”

On the publishing angle: December 2009 saw the completion of the final edit of Through A Rain Of Fire, the first novel in the WWII trilogy I'm writing with Ruth Rockafield. The edit has emerged more or less unscathed through critiques and 3AM perusals, and we're now sending it out. After much nail-chewing and hair-pulling, we've opted to switch from targeting agents to targeting presses. So far, we have four medium-sized presses where we would love to be accepted. We'll see what they think! Replies should start coming in within two weeks—we're nervous, but we're confident that we have a good story and it's on its way to finding a home.

On my own: I've gotten some excellent critiques on my YA historical, SS-5 (http://frontnotes.blogspot.com/2009/10/historical-note-teenage-spies.html) – many thanks to Kelsey, Kayla, Liberty, and all the folks on Storytellers, ChristianWriters, and FairyTaleNovels for their invaluable input. With their help, I've leaned back, gotten a good objective squint at the novel, and will spend the next few weeks on the necessary changes. Then off it goes to agents' desks (I will be targeting agents with this one). The positive feedback on this novel has been incredible – here's hoping the agents are as excited about it!

In writing news: Ruth and I have nearly completed A Fire Is Woken (bk2 in our trilogy)! Our goal is to finish by the twenty-eighth of February. We've a few thousand words to go, but for two NaNo vets, that shouldn't break a sweat. Once it's finished, we'll set it aside for a few weeks pre-edit, while we launch into writing the final novel, A Dwindling Fire. That'll keep us occupied for a few months.

I'm also working on a satirical murder mystery—but that's a subject for a new post. :)

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I'd just like to give a shoutout of thanks to all the folks on Storytellers, ChristianWriters, FairyTaleNovels, and my two writers' groups, who consistently support, encourage, and help me in my insane writer's life. You all are amazing. Thanks so much.

It all sounds so exciting! I'm on the brink of venturing to submit short stories and I can only imagine how nerve-wracking it must be to submit an entire novel...maybe it's a good thing none of mine are ready for that yet. :) I'm so ignorant about the publishing business, and I'm trying to take it a step at a time.

Satirical murder mystery? That sounds like one of my story sketches! That's just what it is, a sketch, so it's far in the future, but I think it will be fun when I get to it. Can't wait to hear about yours!

About Me

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(with Ruth Rockafield)

British nurse Liz Knight goes to London searching for her sister. But it's the height of WWII, and London is under seige as Nazi planes strafe and bomb the city to ruins. As hope crumbles along with the city, Liz's search for her sister becomes a desperate search for courage and faith to survive.

A Texas Ranger is sent to investigate mysterious lynchings in the town of Silver Springs. He quickly finds himself mired in evil secrets simmering under the surface. His only chance of escape is to find the person who leads the killers. But when he becomes the newest victim, time starts running out.